Yes (McAlmont & Butler song)

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"Yes"
McAlmontandButlerYes.jpg
Single by McAlmont & Butler
from the album The Sound Of... McAlmont & Butler
B-side
  • "What's the Excuse This Time?"
  • "Disappointment"
  • "Don't Call It Soul"
  • "How About You?"
Released15 May 1995 (1995-05-15)[1]
GenreSoul
Length
  • 4:53
  • 4:00 (edit)
LabelHut
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
McAlmont & Butler singles chronology
"Yes"
(1995) 		"You Do"
(1995)

"Yes" is the debut single of English music duo McAlmont & Butler, released on 15 May 1995 and later included on their debut album The Sound Of... McAlmont & Butler. The soul ballad[2] was their first UK hit, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, and remains their most successful single, selling over 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom to earn a Silver sales certification. The song also charted in Ireland, reaching number 24, and in New Zealand, peaking at number 40. In 2014, British magazine NME ranked the song at number 174 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[3]

Background[]

Both McAlmont and Butler had departed from their previous bands in acrimonious circumstances shortly before the release—McAlmont from Thieves, Butler from Suede. The lyrics of the song were a thinly disguised attack on their former colleagues. In 2013 Bernard Butler spoke to NME about the song's genesis:

"It was the first piece of music I wrote after I left Suede. I wrote it as an instrumental. Everything was in place, but it didn't have the voice... Everything I'd done in the past six months had been really dark. I'd come out of a very sad situation and lost a lot of friends, so it was a very liberating song. I met David at the Jazz Café in Camden and said, 'I've got this song, do you want to try it out?' He came back to me two days later and sang the first verse. He had no second verse, so I just said 'Sing the first one again'... I wanted it to be like a great piece of '60s vinyl."[4]

Track listings[]

UK CD single[5]

  1. "Yes" (full version) – 4:53
  2. "What's the Excuse This Time?" – 5:07
  3. "Disappointment" – 7:32

European CD single[6]

  1. "Yes" (edit) – 4:00
  2. "Don't Call It Soul" – 3:57
  3. "How About You?" – 5:49

Charts[]

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[7] 39
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 24
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 40
Scotland (OCC)[10] 5
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 8

Sales and certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Silver 140,000[12]

References[]

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 13 May 1995. p. 39. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  2. ^ Masterton, James (21 May 1995). "Week Ending May 27th 1995". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  3. ^ Barker, Emily (31 January 2014). "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". NME. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  4. ^ "The 100 Greatest Britpop Songs". NME. London, England: IPC Media. 11 May 2013. p. 34.
  5. ^ Yes (UK CD single liner notes). McAlmont & Butler. Hut Records. 1995. HUTDX53.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Yes (European CD single liner notes). McAlmont & Butler. Hut Records. 1995. HUTCD 53.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12 no. 23. 10 June 1995. p. 19. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  8. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Mc Almont and Butler". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 July 2019 2019.
  9. ^ "Charts.nz – McAlmont & Butler – Yes". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Pop Gem #94: McAlmont & Butler – Yes". Official Charts Company. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  13. ^ "British single certifications – McAlmont & Butler – Yes". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
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